


Kismet Association: Kaiser Corporation, Incursions and the Mystery of Tartarus

by Kaiser_Corporation



Series: Kismet Association [1]
Category: Library of Ruina (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:07:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25875613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaiser_Corporation/pseuds/Kaiser_Corporation
Summary: "Kismet Association: Kaiser Corporation, Incursions and the Mystery of Tartarus" is an experimental story set in an Alternate Universe, during the setting of Project Moon's sequel to Lobotomy Corporation, the Library of Ruina. The stories intended purpose is to follow the lives of Kismet Association, an additional 13th Association added onto the original 12, and its many Affiliate Offices, while also attempting to explore, create and develop its cast of characters and future ideas.This AU is mostly unchanged compared to its canon counterpart. Please keep in mind that everything written here and all associated chapters regarding this story may change in the future.
Series: Kismet Association [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1877671





	Kismet Association: Kaiser Corporation, Incursions and the Mystery of Tartarus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the prologue chapter to Kismet's story. This chapter will replace the 'Author's Note' chapter I orignally had as a placeholder for this one. It's recommend that readers look through this Google Document, which will hopefully enlighten the readers on a few things that will be happening with the story. 
> 
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/110RDR3Hqe-NYq4quCgAud-FI9aTTm_XfHqJF5HKeqrs/edit?usp=sharing

* * *

_“They start off as merely a nuisance, but as the day marched on they grew in numbers, unpredictability, and danger.”_

  
**_Location: An Office in the Backstreets of District 5._**  
  
A Fixer sat in an office chair. His hair was black, stylized into a slick polished cut. His skin tone was brown. The fixer’s name was Zevchya. He was currently the Operator of an Office located in the Backstreets of District 5. Managed by E Corporation.  
  
Zevchya looked to be around 37 years old. He was five feet, ten inches. Dressed in a black, sleek jacket. Three, evenly separated, white lines decorated either side of the jacket’s front. These lines traveled around the lower body of the jacket, where they met at the back vent. A white three-button shirt was visible beneath the jacket. All three of his buttons were black. He was sporting black gloves, shoes, and long pants. His socks were white. Three white stripes adorned the lower areas of both leggings near his ankles. Two rapiers hung from the right and left side of his body. Black hilts protruded from similarly colored scabbards. Zevchya sighed to himself as he took in the quiet emptiness of his Office. Serenity such as this didn’t come by often in his line of work. He just hoped the feeling could last for the entirety of the day.  
  
Suddenly as if on cue, the door to his office swung open. Two individuals stepped inside.  
  


One was a young woman with a determined expression on her face. She appeared to be around 32 years old. Her name was Gilda. She was at Zevchya’s height, only three inches shorter. Her hair was styled in a short bob with bangs. Both her eyes and her hair were black; she had tan skin. Gilda wore the same attire as Zevchya, with the difference of two white lines decorating the bottom areas of her jacket and pants legs.  
  
The next person to step in behind Gilda was Jelle, a young man with a timid expression. He was around the age of 26. Jelle was barely an inch taller than Gilda. His eyes were blue; his skin was a light tone. Much like Gilda, and Zevchya, Jelle’s attire was almost entirely the same. Jelle’s jacket and pants legs had one less white line than Gilda’s. A pair of round glasses sat in the middle of his face, a black rim kept the lens firmly in place. Jelle’s hair was black, held up in a short ponytail by a white band at the back of his head. Gilda carried a large sword strapped around her back, a shortsword sat on her right. Jelle’s weapon was a rapier, like Zevchya’s, however he only carried one. Both Jelle’s and Gilda’s weapons had black hilts with similarly colored scabbards.  
  
“Aye! Zevchya!” Gilda called to Zevchya as she stepped towards her boss’ desk with a wide grin, further damaging the pre-established silence of the Office. Zevchya stared up at her, and then Jelle who quietly followed her. He sighed, his gaze returning to Gilda, “Gilda... I’ve talked to you about being loud. Quiet down a bit, what is it? Jelle, close the door.” Jelle silently nodded, stepping towards the door to close it. Gilda rubbed the back of her head. “Right. Sorry, boss.” She reached into her jacket’s inner right pocket with her left hand, removing a sheet of paper. The paper was rolled up and neatly held together by a black ribbon.  
  
“Lookie here, Zevchya! I got us a request posted by an Association!” Gilda placed the paper gently on the desk for Zevchya to read. Jelle stepped back, chiming in. “This task seems fairly unique.” He stood next to Gilda, waiting for the Operator to review the request.  
  
Zevchya looked down at the scrolled up sheet of paper. In the City, standing out was important. Especially if you were a Fixer, and you wanted to join an Office or take on different requests from Wings, Associations, or anything else of the sort. Throwing around a word such as ‘unique’ didn’t have much meaning nowadays, as anything could be ‘unique’ while still being practically normal when it came to the City’s standards. Reading the request that was given to him. It simply asked an Office in this case, Zevchya’s, to investigate some strange occurrences in a secluded area of District 5’s Backstreets. An area he was familiar with. The location practically neighboring their own.  
  
The request felt dangerous, but then again, what wasn’t dangerous in the City? Besides, it would be foolish of him to ignore the pay. The amount of Ahn his Office would be receiving may help sustain it for the rest of the month, by the very least. The conditions of the request were simple: Investigate some strange disappearances and killings in District 5. If possible, attempt to eliminate the cause. The trio would get half of the reward for investigating and discovering the cause, then the other half for successfully eliminating it. Zevchya rolled the sheet of paper back up and tied it with moderate neatness. “Alright.” Zevchya began, standing from his seat. “We’ll take this request. I’ll get everything formally prepared. You two prepare to go out to the location written on the paper. We leave tomorrow morning.”  
  
“Nice!” Gilda suddenly exclaimed with excitement, frightening Jelle, who hadn’t anticipated her sudden outburst. “Gilda!” Zevchya, called, getting her attention. Gilda looked towards him. “Ah! Did it again, apologies, boss-” she was cut off by Zevchya, who had raised his hand to signal to her that it was fine. “It’s alright. I wanted to ask. Which Association posted this request?” He questioned her, gently waving the scrolled up paper in his hand.  
  
Jelle walked off to prepare since the conversation no longer involved him. He didn’t have anything else to add anyways. Gilda raised an eyebrow at the Operator. “It said on the request, sir. It was posted by Kismet Association’s Section 5.”  
  
“...Kismet Association…” Zevchya rubbed his chin with his free hand. He had heard about the Association. Kismet was the thirteenth Association established in the City. It performed a multitude of requests and had a handful of Associate Offices linked to its six main branches. Its main objective was the investigation, acquisition, or elimination of threats that stem from Temporal, Spatial, Cognitive, or Dimensional anomalies within the City. Since this was posted by Kismet, it was only reasonable to assume that this request was related to one or more of those anomalies.

* * *

* * *

* * *

**_Location: Somewhere in the Backstreets of District 5._**  
  
It didn’t take the group long to arrive in the area that was noted on the request. Zevchya and Jelle winced at the bizarre sight, while Gilda raised an eyebrow. “...What the hell...” Zevchya muttered to himself. The entirety of the neighborhood where their mission was taking place, had been drastically altered.  
  
Corpses were scattered in almost every conceivable direction. Blood, mixed with green and purple fluid, pooled down the streets and splattered the nearby buildings like paint. Strange glowing, pale-green, crystals of varying sizes clung to the structures, including their pathways.  
  
Large mushrooms, also in various shapes, and sizes, erected from similar locations as the crystals. Zevchya cautiously stepped onward with Jelle and Gilda not too far behind him, his hand resting on the handle of his rapier. If he wanted, all he would need to do was find some form of evidence that he had been there, something he could show to their clients to receive payment. They needed the money, but there was no point in being rewarded for something he wouldn’t be there to collect.

Zevchya approached one of the corpses. Crouching down to get a closer look, the individual seemed to be a young man with pale skin. This person was around Jelle’s height, possibly a few inches shorter? The man had messy brown hair. Was dressed in a brown, dirt-stained coat, a green undershirt, blue jeans, and a pair of old-looking tan shoes. The body had an abnormally large puncture wound located near his abdomen. Wide enough to fit his whole hand in. He could see the crimson layered concrete below. “Could a Syndicate have done all of this..?” Zevchya asked himself in a low whisper.  
  
“Aye, boss,” Gilda spoke up from behind him, causing him to look over his shoulder in her direction. “I’ll take Jelle and explore further up the block if that’s alright with you.” She asked, both her hands positioned on her hips. “It’s fine, I can take care of myself…” Jelle chimed in. Gilda turned towards him, shaking her head gently, “No. We can’t just go off into different areas by ourselves. Zevchya can take care of himself, you’re still learning. ‘Sides we make a good team.” She finished with a smile, which was returned by Jelle.  
  
Zevchya nodded, “If you two think you’ll be fine on your own, then go ahead and see what you can find. If you find the source of this mess, do not engage. Come back and find me. We’ll tackle it together as a group.” Gilda gave Zevchya a thumbs up while Jelle nodded. They both continued up the alleyway.  
  
With those two off on their own Zevchya looked back towards the corpse as he thought to himself. Could a Syndicate have been a probable cause for all of this? Zevchya had heard of Syndicates who would go around slaughtering groups of people, but not any that would alter surroundings such as what happened here. Whatever the reason was, it slowly became more evident that this mission may be out of his Office’s league. Investigating, then leaving was starting to become the better choice.  
  
Zevchya kept his guard up as he rose from the corpse. He continued down the alleyway, hoping to catch up with Gilda and Jelle who weren’t too far ahead of him. The bodies, although littered about, created a sort of bread crumb trail that he could follow as he cautiously made his way through the backstreet. Other than Syndicates, Zevchya had heard rumors of a phenomenon that turned people into monsters at random.  
  
The ‘Distortion Phenomenon’. Ranked as an Urban Nightmare by the Hana Association. Zevchya could recall the first case of the Distortion being a musical-based entity known solely as ‘The Pianist’. The monster had destroyed 80% of a Wing’s district before being subdued. Could something like that have been the cause of all of this?

* * *

* * *

* * *

**_Location: Somewhere in the Backstreets of District 5._ **

“Damn, this place is in fucking shambles...” Gilda spoke, as she peered around the interior of the ruined restaurant. “Whatever happened here seriously threw this neighborhood out of order.”  
  
The inside of the restaurant was in disarray. Blood splattered the walls, furniture, ceiling, and floor. Similarly to the exterior of the building, its interior had the same clusters of pale-green, glowing crystals strewn about in different areas of the shop. Although these crystals were smaller. The ones they viewed before arriving in this part of the Backstreets were huge; almost the size of a toddler, if not bigger.   
  
These gems were packed into tiny batches in the corners of the building. They were about the size of small rodents. If it weren’t for their glow, then Gilda may have not noticed them first glance. The mushrooms that were seen at the beginning of the alleyway were present in large groups, breaking through the floor of the buildings and street, ripping them apart. So far, they were the reason that this part of the backstreet’s shops and apartment complexes were in tatters. “Aye, Jelle! Did you find anything in that workshop?” She turned her attention away from the building’s interior, calling to Jelle, who had been investigating the inside of a workshop across from the restaurant, seemingly experiencing a similar fate.  
  
All the buildings in this section of E Corporation’s Backstreets appeared to have been left in this condition. Blood, bodies, green fluid, purple fluid, crystals, and mushrooms were reoccurring decor that was strewn across this area. Jelle walked towards Gilda. “Same thing as the other buildings we checked. That workshop lacked any strange gemstones, however.” He responded.  
  
“...Hmm.” Gilda peered back into the restaurant, observing it closely. “Jelle,” She began. “Did you by chance see any of them? In the workshop?” She asked without looking back towards him. Jelle thought to himself for a moment before answering. “No. I didn’t see any bodies in that building either.”

As the two of them were examining the neighborhood they had become aware that the number of bodies that were left lying in various places was becoming less common. The crystals, which were rampant across the Backstreet were being overtaken by the various species of mushrooms that were arbitrarily present in the buildings and passageway. “Where the hell did they all go...” Gilda quietly asked herself. In the City, many people disappeared. Practically daily. Rats kidnapping people for gut-harvesting, Syndicates or Associations executing assassination orders, cannibalism, it was rampant in the City. 

Although with those cases, a body may at least be recovered. Groups of people were no exception to this. An entire neighborhood of individuals just up and vanishing never happened often. Unless Sweepers were the cause. The ‘Sweepers’ were cannibalistic monsters that roamed the Backstreets en masse at night. Hordes of them would attack unprotected neighborhoods. Gilda could consider that Sweepers were the cause of the body’s disappearances, although Sweepers usually left a mess when they finished eating, remnants that they were there. Nor did they alter their environment to such an extent as Gilda and Jelle witnessed now. “...Gilda…” Jelle got her attention, causing her to break her train of thought and turn towards him. “Hunh? What is it?” She asked. Jelle pointed up the street. “There’s someone there. Near the apartment to the left.”

Gilda followed the direction where his hand was pointing. Jelle was correct. There was a silhouette further up the road, sitting against the wall of an apartment building. The individual appeared to be squatting down, clutching their head. “Hunh. So there was a survivor.” With the state the neighborhood was in, Gilda didn’t expect to see anyone left alive. Both herself and Jelle calmly walked up the road towards the mysterious individual.  
  
“What the hell....” Gilda muttered in shock. As they cautiously approached the person in question. It became apparent that something wasn’t right. The figure sat crouched against the wall of the apartment building, below a window to the right of the entrance. Both of their hands were clutching their head. 

This individual appeared to be male, but their body was attached to the wall of the apartment by his back. The person was dressed in a torn, dirty red jacket. His pants were in slightly poor condition. His grey jeans had various holes across random areas of the clothing. These holes were filled with small clumps of mushrooms. Dirt was arbitrarily placed to and fro across the jeans.  
  
Strange groups of white growths clung to the wall behind him in large portions, barely covering the window sill this person was beneath. Mushrooms of various types and sizes protruded from nearly every foreseeable part of his body. It was surprising he was still identifiable as a person. If it weren’t for his clothing, the black frizzled hair, and pants the duo may have assumed that he was just another mass of mushrooms that happened to be sticking out from the wall. “...What do you think happened to this person…” Jelle piped up from behind Gilda.  
  
She couldn’t even begin to properly explain what she was looking at. The man was dead. How he died was left completely up in the air at the moment. Gilda observed the mushrooms for a moment. They were tall. About half her height, if not more a few more inches. Following the stem of mushrooms emerging from the man's mouth and eyes, she found that his face was nearly covered in smaller mushrooms. About a few centimetres tall, and some around a few inches in height. He must have been through a lot during his final moments alive.  
  


This happened often, in the Backstreets. People who were trying to get through the day by a hair’s length. Living their lives the best they believed they were. Devoting themselves to others, only for the foundation they’ve made for themselves to suddenly be torn down like a house of cards in an unforgivable storm.  
  
Most Fixers, such as Gilda, and Zevchya were used to seeing these kinds of scenarios. Whether they witnessed them firsthand or observed the aftermath. Their experiences working with each other had left them open to many different happenings and occurrences within the Backstreets that reaffirmed their views and beliefs. Some that could make the unprepared breakdown. Albeit, Jelle had encountered some difficulties getting accustomed to Office life. Especially when he began working with Zevchya and Gilda. He’s practically become the same as them by now.

Gilda reached for the doorknob to the apartment, turning it and slowly pushing the door open. She peered around. Lights were still, flickering on and off. The hallway wasn’t very long. There were four doors within, two on each side. All leading to a staircase that extended to the higher floors of the building. Bodies were laid out inside the hallway. Men, women, and children appearing to have similar growths like the man outside. Another detail Gilda noted was how cold the building felt compared to the weather outside. It was virtually chilly in the apartment. After Gilda thoroughly looked through the small area, she signaled for Jelle to quietly follow her inside. 

She hadn’t seen any of those strange crystallizations that the two observed earlier. The pair cautiously and quietly navigated through the hall towards the staircase. The doors of the apartment rooms were covered in the white material similar to the corpses that have been observed thus far. “What the hell is this stuff anyway, it’s everywhere,” Gilda asked in a quiet tone.  
  
Jelle stared at the substance, getting closer to one of the doors to get a better look. “...It’s probably mycelium.”  
  
“Mycelium?” Gilda immediately shot back with another question, looking towards him. Jelle adjusted his glasses, “It’s the vegetative part of a fungus. Mycelium is like a bacterial colony. It’s what used to break down organic matter into nutrients.”  
  
Gilda thought to herself for a moment. “So if that’s the case then these bodies are probably being used as food for the mushrooms growing out of them, hunh.”  
  
Jelle nodded, “That’s... most likely the case. Yes.”  
  
Both Gilda and Jelle climbed up the stairway to the fifteenth floor. They continued up the stairs without stepping onto their floors. As far as they could tell, there was no need, so far the floors that they viewed were similar to the ground floor’s condition. After a while of ascending the steps, Gilda spoke up, breaking the silence. “I think we’re almost to the top. This is a peculiar request, wouldn’t you say? I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it before.”  
  
“I agree.” Jelle chipped in. “It doesn’t remind me of anything either.”  
  
Gilda and Jelle arrived on the eighteenth floor of the apartment. Two more until they reached the roof. Both their legs were burning from climbing up the mountain of steps. The sensation was appreciated however, as the building got colder the higher they went, like the building itself was some kind of mountain range. The pair stepped onto the eighteenth floor. This one was different from the seventeen other flights they had observed.  
  
There were no bodies present on this floor that they could see.  
  
“Hunh. Gilda muttered, stepping into the hallway of the eighteenth floor. “So, no bodies again, hm?” Jelle was a reasonable distance behind her as she walked to the end of the hallway towards the window. Mycelium still coated the surrounding walls, ceiling, floor, and doors belonging to this part of the building. Gilda just happened to peer to her left as she was turning around, noticing that one of the doors was cracked open. Gilda, not wanting to place her hand on the door, turned towards it as Jelle watched curiously. Raising her left leg she put the full force of her strength into kicking the door wide open. “G-Gilda! What are you doing?!” Jelle questioned.  
  
She looked towards Jelle raising a brow. “I saw the door was unlocked so I kicked it open?”  
  
“But… Wouldn’t it have been better to just push it open with your hand?” Jelle suggested.  
  
Gilda shook her head. “Nah. You see this stuff, Jelle? I don’t want to touch it with my hands. Even if I’m wearing gloves. Besides…” She stopped and gazed inside the room. “What the…” Gilda signaled for Jelle to come closer, which he did, silently walking over beside her.  
  
When Jelle looked inside the room he became perplexed as well. Inside the room was a figure, standing at its center. The person had their back towards them, their body slouched over and leaning back and forth in an unnatural manner. Inside of the apartment room was filled with mushrooms. Similarly to the restaurant and workshop both Jelle and Gilda had viewed separately. This room was torn apart by mushrooms of various sizes. Just enough afternoon sunlight was granted access to make the shadowy figure present.  
  
Gilda attempted to step forward to investigate, only causing the floorboard beneath her to release an uncomfortably loud creaking noise. The person before them ceased all movement. Slowly turning around to face them, while at the same time raising its upper body. The features of the person’s front body couldn’t be identified. Clumps of large and small mushrooms decorated the body like clothing. Mushrooms were emerging from the mouth, eyes, nose, chest, and fingertips. Practically everywhere but the legs were covered.  
  
Upon ‘viewing’ the two Fixers, the monster rushed, making all kinds of unnatural noises. As if the body was choking and gasping to even breathe in the first place. Its hands were outstretched, constantly opening and closing as if wanting to grab or latch onto something. “Shit..!” Gilda exclaimed, reaching for the sword on her side. However, Jelle was the first to strike. With swiftness, Jelle gripped the hilt of his rapier sliding it out of the scabbard. In the same motion, he quickly thrust the blade into the creature’s body leaving multiple holes in the shape of a north star. The dazzling white blade of the Ex-Nihilo Workshop weapon leaving his opponent a glittering, starry mess on the floor.  
  
Jelle let out a sigh as he sheathed his weapon. “Nice job, Jelle! Your reflexes are still faster than my own,” Gilda congratulated her partner. “Thanks,” Jelle responded, fixing his glasses. Jelle approached the corpse of the creature, cautiously bending down to examine it. “Do you think all the tenants ended up like this, Gilda?” Jelle asked, observing the body. The inner areas of the holes his rapier left were glazed over. A side effect of his weapon’s effects. Jelle ignored it as he carefully reached out to grasp one of the mushrooms emerging from the body’s mouth.  
  
Gilda thought to herself for a moment. “There’s definitely a possibility… That all the other tenants in this building ended up like this one.” Gilda peered down the hallway towards the staircase. The corpses that the two of them encountered and observed so far were inanimate. None of them were moving or appeared to be alive. She watched the staircase intently. The neighboring door next to hers slammed open, startlingly Gilda and causing Jelle to immediately rise to his feet. “Jelle!” Gilda yelled to him. “Damn it! Get ready for combat! We were right!”  
  
The other doors in the same hallway were slammed open or were pushed down to the floor. The hall was quickly filled with up to five monsters similar to the one Jelle had just slain. Mushrooms of various types, shapes, and sizes coated their bodies like armor. Gilda couldn’t use her longsword in the space they were given, especially not with Jelle so close to her. She unsheathed her shortsword and picked a target closest to her. Gilda raised the sword above her head, the glimmering white blade of the Ex-Nihilo Workshop weapon began to glow vehemently as it was brought down in a diagonal motion. It was like taking the heat of a star to a stick of butter. The body of Gilda’s target was left with a white sparkling line across its form before a north-star shaped flash sent four quadrants of the body flying in a short display of beauty.  
  
Gilda whistled. “Damn, that note wasn’t kidding when it said these weapons were strong.” Jelle was already out of the room before she realized, thrusting his rapier into his opponents. She looked out the window behind her, the setting sun bringing worry to her face.  
  
Soon the Sweepers will begin their march through the Backstreets.

* * *

* * *

* * *

**_Location: Somewhere in the Backstreets of District 5._ **

Zevchya looked at the sun high above his head. It had only been a few minutes since Gilda and Jelle left. He examined the tiny glowing crystal in his hand. The pale-green luminescence contrasting against his black glove. The mineral felt warm between his fingers as he pocketed it in his jacket. He stepped out of the tattered restaurant. Zevchya had collected tiny samples of the anomaly affecting E Corp’s Backstreet. He wanted to have some form of evidence in case of conflict and the three needed to retreat. They would not get the full pay, although there are always other requests they could perform.  
  
“Alright. I should go meet up with Gilda and Jelle now.” Zevchya muttered to himself, making his way further up the road. They hadn’t been separated for long so he should be able to catch up with them given that Gilda and Jelle didn’t wander too far ahead of him.  
  
As Zevchya navigated through the alleyway he noticed something near an apartment building to his far left. Multiple grotesque figures were wandering around the exterior of the building. Their figures and proportions were unnatural as they moved about. Zevchya drew his rapiers as he prepared for combat.  
  
As Zevchya approached the groups, he saw the mushrooms that were plastered all over the bodies of the once human tenants as they reached with their arms outstretched towards him. Zevchya wasn’t concerned at all as he thrust his Ex-Nihilo Workshop rapiers into the creatures. Dazzling north star-shaped flashes of light popped off like fireworks at night as he left glimmering holes in their bodies. Soon seven monsters quickly became five, then three, then zero. 

He was unfazed as he looked towards the entrance of the building. The hallway of the ground floor was filled with more creatures similar to the ones Zevchya had slain outside. He counted at least nine. They seemed slow-moving, so Zevchya figured he could simply ignore them and move on. At least he would have, until he heard a familiar voice call out from the end of the hall. “Jelle! Damn it get ready for combat! I was right!”  
  
Gilda’s voice rang out through the staircase. Even with all the stomping these monsters were creating Gilda still somehow managed to be louder. Zevchya didn’t hesitate, he calmly and fearlessly stepped forward towards the danger, intending to assist his allies at any costs. He was so focused on what had to be done, he didn’t register how cold the building was compared to the weather of its exterior.

* * *

* * *

* * *

**_Location: An Apartment in the Backstreets of District 5._ **

Gilda and Jelle fought with all their might in the cramped space. This hall was just wide enough for the two to fight without slowing each other down. They were on the thirteenth floor now. How they managed to stay alive was beyond either of them. They really did make a good team, as Gilda mentioned. Jelle covered their rear while Gilda effortlessly sliced and diced the mushroom folk in front of her. Thankfully they were on the eighteenth floor when they began, meaning that their rear didn’t have many monsters to deal with compared to their front. Jelle’s process was simple: Gilda would cleave her way through the staircase per floor while Jelle backed her up with his rapier. Gilda would continue chopping away at their front while Jelle killed off any monsters that happened to have noticed and followed them into the staircase.  
  
The monsters were slow-moving, and their mushroom ‘armor’ wasn’t nearly strong enough to defend themselves from their heated weapons. If possible they would skip a floor, given that the staircase wasn’t filled. Jelle killed any entities that happened to follow them with his weapon. “Shit… They won’t stop coming…! Getting tired too.” Gilda muttered in frustration. “Jelle! Are anymore following us down the steps?”  
  
“Not at the moment!” He responded, “Keep going! We can make it out of the building at this rate!”  
  
Bodies piled on the floors and stairs, glittering like a white starry sky. More doors busting open sounded from above as footsteps filled the staircase. They were on the tenth floor now. Jelle prepared his weapon as he began puncturing the bodies of the creatures approaching from the rear. Gilda wasn’t the only one who was becoming tired. Jelle surveyed the hallway of the tenth floor from where he stood in the staircase. He furrowed his brows as he viewed something completely different from what he witnessed so far. Between the new bodies that exited the doors of the hall, a different creature stepped out. It was a mostly white mushroom. Its lower body was bulbous and its cap was larger than it, with opaque drapery hanging from its edges.  
  
The creature had four strong, hook-shaped appendages that seemed to act as legs. It scuttled to one of the doors farthest down the hallway, disappearing into the room. “What the…-” Jelle whispered to himself. He hadn’t seen anything like that before. Was it the cause behind all of this? Or just another byproduct of whatever happened in this neighborhood? Whatever the case Jelle wouldn’t be able to investigate the strange entity he glimpsed. A white shortsword zipped past his face into the oncoming threat reaching out to grab him. The upper half erupted into a white flash as the corpse hit the floor. Jelle was snapped back to the reality of what was occurring as Gilda called to him. “Jelle! Pay attention! What are you staring at?” Gilda questioned, her back was turned towards the threat below. She had saved him from getting tackled while he was distracted.  
  
Jelle snapped himself out of his daze as he got back to work. “Right! Sor- Gilda!” Jelle called to his partner now, as Gilda’s longsword was latched onto, and roughly pulled downwards with the rest of her. “Da- Damn it! Not like this!” Gilda struggled to get herself out from beneath the strap of her weapon to no avail as her right arm was grabbed by the hands of the dead. They pulled her face and hair as Jelle did his best to focus on the opponents in front of him. He felt terrible about turning his back on Gilda but if he didn’t take care of the dead coming towards them then they would have even more trouble than they do now.  
  
Gilda gripped onto her shortsword as she raised it in the air, stabbing it into the monster grabbing her right arm. The creatures weren’t trying to consume her, thankfully. Although they were pulling on her aggressively. With the way she was now, she could end up seriously injured. Many hands pulled onto her jacket, legs, anything they could grab a hold of. If they weren’t holding onto Gilda directly then she could cut the strap of her longsword and free herself.  
  
The dead tugged harder on her. Her face was painfully sore. Was this how it would end for her? Death by dismemberment as she was forced to watch Jelle struggle for both their lives? She didn’t blame Jelle once for zoning out; the thought simply didn’t cross her mind once as she quickly passed the sword into her right hand, cutting into the monster grabbing at her hair.  
  
The monsters kept pulling her towards them and away from Jelle until their hands began covering her face. This was it for them, wasn’t it? Gilda was too tired to struggle any further, she knew when she was defeated. She let the hands continue to pull her further away from Jelle as she closed her eyes. She hoped it would be painless, at least.  
  
“Gilda!” A voice called out to her, and her eyes immediately snapped open, just in time to see a sparkling white rapier jut through the monsters clouding her vision.  
  
Like a literal bright ray of hope Zevchya swiftly stabbed holes into her captors. “Jelle! Don’t you stop for a moment!” Zevchya called out to the young man, “Of course, Zevchya!” Jelle responded. With renewed vigor, the young man increased his efforts. Zevchya had arrived just in time.  
  
Zevchya swiftly dispatched the monsters holding Gilda down. He immediately helped her up thereafter. “Are you alright, Gilda?” He questioned.  
  
Gilda lazily fixed her hair as she picked up her shortsword, the blade coming back to life as soon as it entered her palm. “Well… I was nearly torn to pieces by a bunch of mushroom-freaks but otherwise, I’m alright. Thank you, Zevchya.”  
  
Zevchya nodded in response, “That’s good. We all can talk back at the office. I cleared a majority of the creatures from the remaining floors. We should retreat while we still can.” Zevchya called to Jelle, “Come, Jelle! We’re leaving immediately!”  
  
Jelle finished off one last monster before sheathing his rapier and reuniting with Zevchya and Gilda. He took one last moment to examine the hall, noticing that the four-legged creature he witnessed earlier was at the center beneath the floor’s window. It faced Jelle, as if it were observing him.  
  
The three quickly and carefully shuffled their way out the apartment, and into the streets. Gilda shut the door of the apartment behind her. She wheezed. “Damn… I genuinely didn’t think we’d make it…” She spoke, clearly tired from overexerting herself.  
  
“We should leave quickly. The sun has nearly set, and we can’t be out on the street at night.” Zevchya suggested. “I have sufficient evidence of our investigations into this area. I’ll write the reports based on our collective experiences as soon as we get back, then personally submit them to Kismet’s nearest branch next morning.”  
  
The door slammed behind the three. The corpses of the tenants attempting to break out into the Backstreets. “Gilda, open that door.” Zevchya suggested.  
  
Gilda turned towards him, “Hunh?” She questioned, confused.  
  
“The Sweepers, Gilda. They can take care of these corpses for us.” Jelle explained.  
  
“Ah. If that’s the case…” Gilda once again raised her leg. A few of the bodies were probably pushing against the door from the other side. With what remaining strength she had left, Gilda thrust her foot towards the door, forcing it open, and knocking a few of the tenants backward. The remaining monsters moved towards the now open door as Gilda, Jelle, and Zevchya safely retreated away from the area.  
  
As the three ran, more infected seemingly appeared from nowhere, almost like a horde.  
  
That night, an ocean swept through that area of the Backstreets, as well as any other undefended neighborhoods within the City. The ocean began at the edges of E Corp’s Nest, its waters slowly coursing through alleyways and buildings. The waves of that ocean disposing anything and everything unfortunate enough to be swept away by its unforgiving currents.


End file.
